CDL Training Reccomendations

Looking at going to a company sponsored school in the early spring of 2016. Wondering if those of you who are established have preferences on the better schools out there. So far, I am leaning towards Prime or CR England.

Thanks for any comments Brett

Welcome aboard Brett! Great name - guarantees success!

It's really not about picking "the best" school. It's about picking the right school for you. When you're going through a Company-Sponsored Training Program you're really picking a company to work for more so than a school. They're all going to train you just fine, but they won't all be offering the same types of freight, pay & benefits, and home time, amongst other concerns.

So the first thing you'll want to do is to apply to any schools you might be considering and see who is willing to hire you. No sense in doing months of research just to find out you don't qualify for the one you wanted. Also, you'll want to get a conversation going with the various recruiters to see what little perks each company is offering.

Prime Inc has the highest pay for new drivers of any of the programs. They have a big fleet, great equipment, and several different types of freight you could eventually work your way into. The two things to be aware of with Prime is that their training on the road with a mentor is very long, in the order of several months. Most companies train for a month or two, if that. The other thing is home time. You will not see home very often. So if home time is a big concern, Prime is probably not your place. But overall an awesome company.

CR England historically had some disadvantages. Their school was more expensive than most and they tried pushing new drivers into leasing. I'm told by the company this isn't the case anymore. Their schooling is less expensive, their contract is shorter, and a first year driver is no longer allowed to lease a truck through them. These are pretty recent changes and we haven't even updated our information on them yet. But keep these things in mind when you read complaints about the company. They've changed quite a bit and they're worth looking into. Again, home time with any refrigerated company is usually quite limited so be aware of that. Also, their pay tends to be on the low end of the scale.

Research the companies well. I highly recommend you look at all of the companies that provide training. There are plenty of options out there.

Thanks for the insight Brett! TT has great information, and I really enjoying seeing many different perspectives. I think I am mostly looking for quality training. Eventually I would like to stay in the western half of the States or Pacific N. W. but I know the first year or more will be all over the map. Ill continue to research and compare,(I do have a bit of time). Thanks again for the help and the site!

Brett